Space

NASA’s Orion sees flawless fairing separation in second test

The three panel or fairings encapsulating a stand-in for Orionís service module successfully detach during a test Nov. 6, 2013 at Lockheed Martinís facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.

The three massive panels protecting a test version of NASA’s Orion multipurpose crew vehicle successfully fell away from the spacecraft Wednesday in a test of a system that will protect Orion during its first trip to space next year.

The panels, called fairings, encase Orion’s service module and shield it from the heat, wind and acoustics it will experience during the spacecraft’s climb into space. The service module, located directly below the crew capsule, will contain the in-space propulsion capability for orbital transfer, attitude control and high-altitude ascent aborts when Orion begins carrying humans in 2021.

It also will generate and store power and provide thermal control, water and air for the astronauts.

The service module will remain connected to the crew module until just before the capsule returns to Earth. During Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), the spacecraft’s flight test next year, a test service module will be attached to the capsule.

“Hardware separation events like this are absolutely critical to the mission and some of the more complicated things we do,” said Mark Geyer, Orion program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We want to know we’ve got the design exactly right and that it can be counted on in space before we ever launch.”

Unlike conventional rocket fairings, these panels are designed to support half of the weight of Orion’s crew module and launch abort system during launch and ascent, which improves performance, saves weight and maximizes the size and capability of the spacecraft. Each panel is 14 feet high and 13 feet wide.

The fairings’ work is done soon after launch. They must be jettisoned when Orion has reached an altitude of about 560,000 feet. To make that possible, six breakable joints and six explosive separation bolts are used to connect the fairing panels to the rocket and each other. In a carefully timed sequence, the joints are fired apart, followed shortly by the bolts. Once all of the pyrotechnics have detonated, six spring assemblies will push the three panels away, leaving the service and crew module exposed to space as they travel onward.

This test, conducted by Orion’s primary contractor, Lockheed Martin, at the company’s Sunnyvale, Calif., facility, was the second test of the fairing separation system. The first occurred in June, when one of the three fairing panels did not completely detach. Engineers determined the issue was caused when the top edge of the fairing came into contact with the adapter ring and kept it from rotating away and releasing from the spacecraft. Because of the engineers’ confidence in successfully eliminating the interference, they maintained plans to increase this week’s test fidelity by emulating the thermal loads experienced by the fairings during ascent. They used strip heaters to heat one of the fairings to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and simulate the temperatures the panels will experience.

Exploration Flight Test-1 is scheduled for September 2014. During that flight, an uncrewed Orion will launch to an altitude of 3,600 miles, more than 15 times farther into space than the International Space Station. It will orbit Earth twice before re-entering the atmosphere as fast as 20,000 mph.

The data gathered during the flight will influence design decisions, authenticate existing computer models, and innovative new approaches to space systems development It also will reduce overall mission risks and costs for subsequent Orion missions to an asteroid and eventually Mars.

Local military discounts

News: Pentagon chief mulls easing military enlistment standards - Defense Secretary Ash Carter is considering easing some military enlistment standards as part of a broader set of initiatives to better attract and keep quality service members and civilians across the Defense Department. Business: Lockheed pays $2 million to settle government overbilling charges - Lockheed Martin Corpor...

Landing mishap for military chopper; two aboard unhurt Two Navy officers were unhurt after their helicopter rolled on its side while landing in the Florida Panhandle. The mishap happened the night of March 27 at a Navy landing site in Pensacola, Fla. The Pensacola News Journal reports a pilot instructor and a student were able...

Top Navy and Air Force officials today told the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2016 will support modernizing combat aviation programs. Cavy Vice Adm. Paul A. Grosklags, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisitions; Air...

Raytheon has been awarded a contract valued at up to $45.7 million by Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems for ground segments in support of four Global Hawk unmanned aircraft systems recently purchased by the Republic of Korea. Under this contract, Raytheon will deliver one building-based and one mobile ground segment to locations in South Korea. Work...

Air Force photograph by SrA. Victor J. Caputo A B-29 Superfortress aircraft, named Doc after its nose art, sit on the flightline March 23, 2015, in Wichita, Kan. Doc will be one of two Superfortresses in the world capable of fl...

Information

Publisher

Aerotech News and Review is published every Friday serving the aerospace and defense industry of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. News and ad copy deadline is noon on the Tuesday prior to publication. The publisher assumes no responsibility for error in ads other than space used.

Disclaimer

The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, or Aerotech News and Review, Inc., of the products or services advertised.